Armored vessel



2 Sheets- Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

G. MEACOM.

ARMGRBD VESSEL.

No. 432,061 Patented July l5, 1890.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. MEACOM. ARMORED VESSEL.

Patented July 15, 1890.

ri if, i m w oro-uws., wummfnu, u. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

GEORGE MEACOM, OF CHELSEA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO WILLIAM R.

DRIVER, OF BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS. i

ARMORED VESSEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 432,061, dated July 15, 1890. Application filed August 9,1889. Serial No. 320.1243. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Bc it known that I, GEORGE MEAOOM, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of. Chelsea, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Armored Vessels, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying' drawings, is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in armored vessels; and it has for its object to increase the strength of the hull, so as to render the vessel invulnerable against the heaviest modern guns now in use or under con struction; to prevent oxidation of the exterior of the vessel by the employmentof van outer movable shell arranged outside of the armor; to prevent the space between such outer shell and the armor from being iilled with water in case it should be penetrated by a shot or by ruiming on rocks, which I accomplish by filling said space with a series of air-tightmetal boxes, by which any damage to the outer shell is confined to the locality that is injured without diminishing the buoyancy of the remaining part of the vessel, and to construct the armor with a hard metailicniddle portion, preferably made of hardened steel, arranged between outer and inner linings composed of strongly-'compressed cotton or other fiber, for the purpose of arresting the penetrating force of`projectiles in the most effectual manner, as will hereinafter be more fully shown and described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, where- Figure l. represents a transverse vertical section of my improved armored vessel. Fig. 2 represents a partial horizontal section on the line X X, shown iii Fig. l. Fig. 3 represents a perspective view of a portion of the hull and improved armor. Fig. i represents a perspective v-iew of one of the hollow tanks or boxes that are arranged in the space inside of the outer wooden shell of the vessel, and Fig. 5 represents a detail perspective view of the improved armor.

Similar letters refer to similar parts wherever they occur on the different part-s of the drawings.

The invention is applicable to ships already finished, although it is preferable to construct them originally according to my design.

I construct my improved vessel with three or more shells or hulls, one within the other and all perfectly watertight, with intervening spaces between them adapted to contain the air-tight metal tanks or boxes and the improved aiinor, as will hereinafter be more fully shown and described.

In building the vessel I first lay a regular wooden keel a, Fig. l, to which is secured, as usual, a number of wooden ribs l) b. To the sides of said wooden ribs I secure by screwbolts or rivets angle-iron ribs c c, extending from the deck to the keel, said angleiron ribs being shown in Fig. 2. To said angle-iron ribs c c is secured by bolts or rivets the in etal lin ll or shell cl, preferably coinposed of steel plates of a proper thickness.

`I then secure to the top of the wooden keel ava steel keelson e, preferably made in the form ot' a T, or two angle-irons riveted together, as shown in Fig. l., To the steel hull d, Inow secure a number of steel ribs ff, extending from the deck to the keelson and secured in such parts in any suitable manner, as shown in Figs. l and 2, said ribs being secured water-tight. to the steel hull d. These ribs are preferably located opposite the outer wooden ribs b b, and are preferably secured by bolts or rivets to the angle-irons c c of said wooden ribs, as shown in Fig. 2. The said steel ribs ff are made of a double-T section, with flanges on the inner and outer sides, as shown in Fig. 2, and said ribs are preferably made wider at the top than at the bottom, as shown in Fig. il. The obgect of said steel ribs is to form a support for the deck-beams and also to form water-tight receptacles for my improved armor, hereinafter to be described. To the inside iianges of the steel ribs f, I secure water-tight a steel shell or hull (as shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3. I now introduce and fasten throughout the ship wooden deck-beams 7L 7i 7L, which are arranged parallel with each other at short intervals and at right angles to the keel, as shown in Figs. l and 2, which beams serve as a backing for my improved armor and as a means for receiving the eoncussious and distributing` @0ncussi'ons when the vessel is struck by a Shot.

After making the ship as above mentioned I cover the outside of the wooden ribs b b with plankin g if, which forms the outerwater-tight IOO shell or hull that serves to prevent oxidationA launched and the upper deck secured in place to the upper-deck beam H. The upper deck is preferably composed of steel plates H secured to the deck-beam H andcovered with the usual wooden deck planking H, as shown in Fig. l.

Through the 'upper deck l-I H I make above each space bounded by the metal shells d g and metal ribs f f a hatch H3, for the introduction of my improved armor into the spaces between said metal shells, which hatches are closed by means of flush covers H4, composedvof wood and metal, after the armor has been put in place. lhelQwerportiernof @espace betweenthe metal, .Shel/15d @2d @T1111 Withblocksef strhglrlompl'essed Yofcdanut fiber Z orequivalent material, (shown 1n 1,) which filling extends from the keelson e to a place below the water-line W where the armor-belt commences. At the upper terminus of the compressed-cocoanut-fiber blocks Z, I secure to the metal shells or hulls d g a metal partition m, that serves as a support for the improved armor contained in the water-tight compartment bounded by the steel shells d g and steel ribs ff, as shown in Fig. l.

My improved armor consists of blocks n n, made of chilled iron or other suitable metal, going from stem to stern of the vessel between the middle portions of the shells d g, the lowest blocks in the series resting on the metal partition fm, as shown in Fig. l. The spaces between the outside of the chilled-iron blocks n n and shell d are filled with blocks o o, made of strongly-compressed cotton or kiar, and the spaces between the inside of said chilled-iron blocks and the shell g are filled with blocks p p, made-of strongly-compressed cocoanut 50` ber, as shown in the dra-wings. This my improved armor, although particularly designed for battle-ships, may also be used to advantage for forts and floating batteries, or in any other places where it is`desired to resist the destructive action of heavy guns or projectiles.

The improved armor should extend from the deck downward suiiiciently to allow the vessel to roll sidewise to its greatest extent without letting the lower portion of the armor rise above the water-line.

Having thus fully described the construction of my invention, I wish to secure by Letters Patent, and claiml. An armored vessel consisting of an outer secured to the ribs of said outer shell, combined with hollow air-tight metallic tanks k, arranged in the spaces between such mner and outer shells, substantially as and foil the purpose set forth.

2. An armored vessel `composed of an outer wooden shell i, a metal shell secured tothe former with a space between them, and airtight metallic tanks lo 7c, arranged 1 n such space, combined with an inner metallic shell g, metal ribs ff, secured water-tightA to said metal shells d g, and the armor arranged between said metal shells d g, said armor consisting of central chilled-iron or other suitable metal blocks n n, compressed-cotton blocks o o, and compressed-cocoanut-flber blocks p p, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The improved armor herein described, consisting of compressed blocks of cotton, compressed blocks of cocoanut fiber, and chilled-metal blocks, said blocks of iron being arranged between the blocks of cotton and the blocks of cocoanut fiber, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The improved armor, as described, consisting of lower blocks l, of compressed cocoanut fibers, and upper armor consistlng of chilled or other metal blocks n n, compressedcotton blocks o o, and compressed-cocoanutber blocks p p, all arranged and constructed substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The armored vessel, as described, consistin g of the outer wooden shellt'and wooden ribs b, the metal shell CZ, secured to said ribs, the hollow air-tight tanks k, arranged between said "shells, the inner metal shell g, metal ribs ff, secured to said metal shells d g, and the armor consisting of a series of chilled` metal or other suitable metal blocks, compressed-cotton blocks, and compressed-cocoanut-liber blocks, all arranged substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The armored vessel, as described,con sisting of the outer wooden shell t' and two or more metal shells (l g, combined with the hollow air-tight metal tanks lo, armor n o p, composed of metal blocks arranged between blocks of compressed fiber, the metal ribs f f, and wooden deck-beams h h h, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In an armored vessel, the metal shells d g and metal ribs f f, combined with the armor-blocks n o p, composed of metal blocks arranged between blocks of compressed fiber, the hatches H3 in the upper deck, and flush covers H4 for said hatches, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. An armored vessel, as. described, consisting of two or more metal shells d g, having arranged between them an armor composed of metal blocks placed between blocks of compressed fiber, combined with an outer wooden shell c', substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

9. An armored vessel consisting of two or more metal shells d g and metal ribs ff, secured water-tight to such metal shells and IIO upper deck, and metal keelson secured to name to this specification, in Jthe presence of such metal ribs, Combined with the horzontwo subscribing Witnesses, on this 5th day of Io tal metal partit-ien or armor-support m,lo\ver August, A. D. 1830. lliugl,m1d armor n 0 p, said armor com- GEORGE MEACOM. posed of metal blocks arranged between blocks of compressed ber, substantially as Vtnesses: and for the purposes set forth. ALBAN ANDRN,

In testimony whereof I have signed my MARTHA J. JACKSON. 

